The Gustavus men’s hockey team jumped out to a 3-1 first period lead and never looked back on its way to a 6-1 win over Concordia at Don Roberts Ice Rink on Friday night. The Gusties clinched a spot in the MIAC Playoffs with the win. Six different players scored for Gustavus, which improved to 12-11-1 on the season.
The Gusties jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead when David Martinson scored an unassisted goal just :46 seconds into the contest. The Cobbers did not take long to tie the score at 1-1 as Matt Cosmos scored a power play goal at the 2:56 mark with assists from Ryan Clukey and Alec Holen. Gustavus took the lead for good a minute later when Patrick Dynan scored at the 4:15 mark to make the score 2-1. Rory and Casey Dynan were credited with the assists. The Gusties extended its lead to 3-1 when Tim Ornell scored a power play at 8:31 of the first period. Martinson and Ben Ollila were credited with assists. Gustavus took its 3-1 lead into the locker room at the end of the first 20 minutes.
The pace slowed down in the second period as only one goal was scored compared to four in the first period. That lone goal came at the 2:22 mark as Gustavus’ Cody Mosbeck tallied a power play goal with assists from Patrick and Rory Dynan. The Gusties led 4-1 after two periods.
The third period was all Gustavus, as Coach Brett Petersen’s squad added two more goals, while outshooting the Cobbers 20-6. T. J. Ridley pushed the lead to 5-1 when he scored a power play goal at the 4:16 mark. Mitch Carlson was credited with an assist. The Gusties closed out the scoring with a Niko Suoraniemi power play goal with a minute-and-a-half left in the contest. It was the Gusties fourth power play goal of the game. Jay Fifield and Rory Dynan were credited with assists. Rory tallied three assists in the game.
Gustavus held a commanding 61-16 lead in shots. Concordia was whistled for 13 penalties in the contest compared to seven for the Gusties. Matt Lopes picked up the win in the nets for Gustavus. He recorded 15 saves. Mike Persson, who suffered the loss in the nets for the Cobbers, made 55 saves.
With the win, the Gusties clinched a spot in the MIAC Post-Season Tournament for the seventh consecutive year. Gustavus (9-6-0) is currently tied for fourth place with Saint John’s (8-5-2) with one game remaining in the regular season. The outcome of tomorrow’s games will determine whether the Gusties or Johnnies earn the #4 seed and host the other team in a first round playoff game next Thursday, Feb. 28.